Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday snatched victory from deep within the jaws of defeat.
The Pacers trailed the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-116 with under 30 seconds left in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs, who had possession coming out of a timeout, were still firmly in control at that point.
But a bad inbounds pass from Max Strus was picked off easily by Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. Haliburton took charge and drove hard to the basket to draw a shooting foul with 12.1 seconds left. The All-Star guard made the first free throw to cut the deficit to two but was short on the second attempt.
Haliburton grabbed his own miss, took the ball back out to the three point line, then sucked the life out of the arena with a game-winning triple as time expired.
TYRESE HALIBURTON WINS GAME 2 FOR THE PACERS 😱🤯
— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2025
WHAT. A. WILD. PLAY. pic.twitter.com/rFsjZmtrBz
The Pacers led by as many as 20 points on two separate occasions. They looked down and out after Donovan Mitchell sank two free throws to put the Cavaliers up 119-112 with 57 seconds to play. But somehow, Indiana overcame Mitchell’s 48-point night and a massive deficit to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the East’s top seed.
After stealing Game 1 on the road, Indiana would have still been in great shape with a split heading into Game 3. But Haliburton went for the jugular on Tuesday night, just like he did against the Indiana Pacers last week. One can only imagine the reaction Tyrese’s dad, John Haliburton, must have had watching from his couch at home.
